u/ms_plat_chat

I was always pretty slim when I was younger but I gained almost 35lbs in college almost without noticing. Once I was out of my parents’ house, I probably doubled what I was eating in a day. My college town was really boring and there was nothing to do with friends besides go to restaurants, coffee shops, or bars. I was super broke and so I made a habit of forcing myself to finish meals, even after I was super full, because I didn’t want to waste any of the money I spent on it. I was used to having to drive 15-20 minutes for restaurants and all of a sudden there was all this food within walking distance of my dorm. It was a lot of things.

I bought an all-new wardrobe and then had to buy a second all-new wardrobe because I outgrew that one too. I finally decided this year that I should probably start losing it before I got too much further into the “overweight” range. I’ve been going at a very sustainable pace and I feel great – I’m down about 15lbs since mid-April.

My question is, does anyone else feel self-conscious when they tell people they’re on a diet?! Sometimes I go out with friends and I order a little salad or something instead of a full meal, and I feel like such an attention hog, or like I look like I’m just dying for someone to notice how health-conscious I am. Having to decline drink or dessert runs because I’m out of calories for the day feels so corny. I feel like I never really got overweight enough for people to be impressed that I’m now losing the weight, and I feel like telling people I’m counting calories (even though I never talk about anyone’s weight or diet unprompted) seems so self-righteous!!